Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Day 14 - The Baptism of Jesus

In this painting, what reminds us Jesus is the Light of the World? What represents the Holy Spirit? Where is He?

Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John didn’t want to baptize Him. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?” But Jesus said, “It must be done, because we must do everything that is right.” So then John baptized Him. After His baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with Him.” — Matthew 3:13-17 (NLT)

Jesus grew up just like any other boy. For thirty years He lived in Nazareth, working in His family’s carpenter shop. But He always knew the world was waiting for Him to show the great love of God through His life and sacrifice for our sins. When God the Son was baptized we could see the Trinity: God the Father saying from heaven that He was pleased with His Son, and God the Spirit coming down like a dove to sit on His shoulder. The Bible says it was a picture of His coming death, burial and resurrection; and to show He was ready to begin His ministry and work. Some say it was an example of what we should do. God has a special ministry for each of us. When we accept Him as our personal Savior, we should be baptized and follow that example to begin the work He has for us to do. Are you asking God to show you what He wants you to do and then doing it the best you can?

Today's Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for being our example. Please show me the work You want me to do, and help me do what You say so You can say about me, “This is my child, in whom I am well pleased!”

Today's Activity:

Have the children read I Peter 2:38-39 and discuss what baptism represents. Have them draw a picture of their own (past or future) baptism and talk about what it means to them.

Seek & Find Answer to the question in the painting above:Light shines down on Jesus at His baptism to remind us Jesus is the Light of the World. The Holy Spirit can be seen as a dove coming down to settle on Him.